The Books I'm Reading Now
I guess this list is an Escape from Reality attempt, as I have three fantasy novels going right now.
I'm listening to Ruby Dixon's sassy fantasy novel, Bull Moon Rising; I'm reading M. L. Wang's recently published dark academia novel, Blood Over Bright Haven; and I'm reading Frances White's fantasy story about mysterious deaths on a magical ship journey, Voyage of the Damned.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 Bull Moon Rising (Royal Artifactual Guild #1) by Ruby Dixon
Ruby Dixon's paranormal, interspecies-romance novel Bull Moon Rising begins with privileged heiress Aspeth Honori's unlikely pilgrimage to the gritty city in order to try to save her family's legacy.
Her father's gambling means the family's artifacts have been lost, and Aspeth is determined to join the Royal Artifactual Guild, become an underground adventurer, find artifacts, and secure her own future and those of her family too.
But achieving her goals isn't going to be that easy. As a woman, she won't be accepted into the guild without a chaperone, and her most likely candidate is a grumpy minotaur (who's also her teacher, oops) who also needs a favor. He's about to go into rut, and despite her ignorance of minotaurs and of sex in general, she's pledged to pair with him, and she enters into a rushed marriage on the eve of the first day of classes with her female-only group of misfits. They're each hoping to earn their way into the guild.
The cover is arresting, and the sparkles and art are a nod to the novel's fantasy genre. But the cotton-candy-rainbow palette somehow didn't prepare me for the steaminess and frank sexual discussions that begin to hit early in the book and don't show any signs of letting up. However, if I had realized that Dixon is the author of 21 Ice Planet Barbarians novels and dozens of other steamy-romantasy books, I might have pieced this together sooner.
I'm listening to Bull Moon Rising as an audiobook.
02 Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
For twenty years, Sciona has single-mindedly set out to learn enough complex, intuitive, precise, powerful magic to become the first woman to be accepted into the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.
But after Sciona blasts the competition at her entrance exam and is admitted, she finds that not all of her dreams have come true. The misogyny and contempt of her peers means she faces a lack of respect and resources at every turn. For example, instead of a lab assistant, she is assigned a janitor without magical training.
The janitor is a cultural outsider with a complicated history, and what he lacks in training he makes up for with the desire to learn more about the forces that may have long ago destroyed his family. When he and Sciona uncover an enormous magical secret, it could not only mean the undoing of the magical hierarchies that many have come to take for granted--it could be dangerous enough that those in power might want to silence the two of them for good.
So far I'm loving the dark academia setting, Sciona's sassy spirit, and the outsider-becoming-an-insider theme.
I'm reading Blood Over Bright Haven courtesy of Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley.
M. L. Wang is also the author of The Sword of Kaigen and the YA fantasy series The Volta Academy Chronicles.
03 Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
To honor Concordia's thousand years of peace between its twelve provinces, the emperor's ship sets out on a voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain. The twelve heirs of Concordia are aboard, each with a special magical power (a Blessing).
All except one, that is. Ganymedes Piscero is, as always, a general disappointment: a class clown lacking in magical ability.
When a magical heir is killed and other deaths follow, Ganymedes is suspected of foul play. He's innocent, but without magical protections, he is in terrible danger of being picked off next. Can Ganymedes become the hero he'll need to be to save the future of his people?
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